Wednesday, May 16, 2018

TIM Good morning I’m Tim Wise, Sanctuary Choir Director at Central. The number one enemy of Christianity today is religion. The same thing has been true from the beginning. Jesus did not offend sinners – he offended the religious men of his day. So how can you distinguish religion from authentic faith in Christ? First, religion loves ritual. Religion delights in the status quo. Change makes it uncomfortable. Religion is a commitment to a system of beliefs, attitudes, and practices. Second, religion responds to challenge with intimidation. Challenge religion, and it will attempt to intimidate you into submission. What does an attorney do when he suspects that truth may not be on his side? He buys time, attacks procedure and assassinates character. Religion is defended the same way. What about Christianity? Well, Christianity loves the truth. Aristotle defined the truth as “saying of what is that it is, and of what is not that it is not.” In other words, truth has a standard, and is not relative. Also, Christianity responds to challenge with boldness. Why? Because knowing the truth and embracing it gives us courage. Don’t be afraid when your faith is challenged by religion. When this happens, the stage is set for a blessing, not defeat.